Table of contents
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Table of contents
- 1 – Introduction
- 2 – Types of matters that may be assisted
- 3 – Criminal law guidelines
- 4 – Commonwealth family law and child support guidelines
- 5 – Commonwealth civil law guidelines
- 6 – State family guidelines
- 7 – State civil law guidelines
- 8 – Public interest and strategic litigation
- 9 – Standard grants assessment process
- 10 – Simplified grants assessment process
- 11 – Referral and practitioner panels
- 12 – Means test
- 13 – Commonwealth merits test
- 14 – State reasonableness test and interests of justice test
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15 – Special circumstances
- The Commonwealth’s special circumstances
- The State’s special circumstances
- Additional information requirements
- 16 – Applying for a grant of legal assistance
- 17 – Decision to grant or refuse assistance
- 18 – Reconsideration and review of decisions
- 19 – Standard terms and conditions
- 20 – Contributions and overdue payments
- 21 – Abandoning legal assistance
- 22 – Finalising grants of legal assistance
- 23 – Allocation of work to lawyers and law firms
- 24 – Payments to lawyers and service providers
- 25 – Compliance reviews
- 26 – Privacy protection
- 27 – Complaints and feedback
- Topic index
- Invoice, worksheets and forms
- Contact us
The State’s special circumstances
A person who is applying for a grant of legal assistance for a State matter will come within the State’s ‘special circumstances’ if they:
- are under 18 years old
- have a language or literacy problem
or - have an intellectual or psychiatric disability.
This guideline does not apply to traffic matters heard in the Magistrates' Court.
Definition of intellectual or psychiatric disability
‘Intellectual or psychiatric disability’ means a disability which has resulted in a person either:
- being registered as an ‘eligible person’ under the Disability Act 2006
- receiving services from an approved mental health service under the Mental Health Act 1986.